1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relates to a component having enhanced shelf life and a method for enhancing the shelf life of a component. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to a hygroscopic component having a gaseous blocking material present in the pores of the component, the gaseous blocking material having sufficient size or mass to inhibit the entry of water vapor into the pores, and a method for preparing the component with the gaseous blocking material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some articles of manufacture are fabricated from, contain, or are coated with a hygroscopic material. If the article of manufacture is exposed to an ambient or other water vapor containing environment, the hygroscopic material will adsorb water, which in some instances, may cause degradation in performance, functionality and/or catastrophic failure of the article of manufacture or system in which the article is used.
For example, in many semiconductor processes which run at temperatures higher than ambient, the wafer substrate support (for example, an electrostatic chuck) is heated. When the substrate support is subsequently exposed to ambient atmosphere (for example, or during initial installation of the part in the chamber, venting at the end of the process run or during process chamber preventive maintenance) there is a tendency for moisture in the ambient atmosphere to be absorbed by the substrate support. This is especially the case where the substrate support has porosities (for example, when thermal/plasma spray processes are used to fabricate support substrates). The moisture must be removed from the substrate support prior to commencing the next run of substrate processing. This is typically done by heating the support substrate in the process chamber or vacuum ovens under normal or reduced pressures. This process takes several hours which can significantly affect the tool availability, customer productivity and cost of ownership.
In another example, heater insulating material, such as magnesium oxide is also hygroscopic. If the insulating material is exposed to an ambient environment, the water adsorbed by the insulating material may cause an electrical short within the heater. Unplanned down time for heater repair is particularly undesirable.
In most instances, it is virtually impossible to maintain an article of manufacture fabricated from, containing or coated with a hygroscopic material isolated from water vapor containing environments at all times between fabrication and ultimate use. Thus, such articles are always at risk for less than optimal performance or potential failure.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved article of manufacture (e.g., a component) which has less susceptibility to degradation when exposed to water vapor and a method for preparing an article of manufacture to have the same.